Studio Spotlight: Rimshot Studio, Kent

Audio Pro International, in association with AllStudios, presents the latest instalment of our Studio Spotlight, whereby we focus on some of the world’s top studio facilities. This week, we take a look at Rimshot Studio, Kent…

Owned by producer, engineer and professional drummer Mike Thorne, Rimshot Studio is a new, purpose-built, boutique recording studio located in ‘the garden of England’ near Maidstone in Kent.

Rimshot offers a blend of both retro and modern gear and was built to fill a gap in the market between smaller project studios and large commercial studios, whilst keeping the same ethos that made Mike’s original project studio so successful.?Thorne explained: "Rimshot was built on the success of my previous studio which, for ten years, was a wonderfully relaxed and vibey attic space where musicians felt comfortable to work. The new studio is a big step up with regards to the sheer size of the live room and the facilities we can offer.

"However, although we now have enough space to comfortably record up to 25 musicians, it was absolutely essential when expanding that we didn’t lose the homeliness that contributed to the previous studio’s achievements. With that in mind, we decided that the new room would be built from green oak, with floor-to-ceiling windows down the entire west wall of the live room allowing clients to look out over the countryside whilst working. As players of acoustic instruments will tell you, when you walk into a room that sounds good and looks good, you want to play. And play more!"

Designed by acoustician Kevin van Green from Green & Green Audio, Rimshot features a large live room (66sqm with a 7m high ceiling), an isolation booth, separate machine room, tea and coffee facilities and a shower room. The 36sqm control room nurtures a fully restored, completely unique 1960s vintage Decca GENDEC valve console, with ten inputs and direct outs, which has recorded the likes of Luciano Pavarotti, Benjamin Britten, Itzhak Perlman and Vladimir Ashkenazy. There is also an SSL AWS900+ (chosen for its short and transparent signal path) and Pro Tools HDX with some "rather special" Burl convertors that "allow you to drive a little bit harder."

Outboard comes from EAR, Decca, EMT, DBX, Lexicon, TC Electronic, Yamaha, Urei, Focusrite and Funk Logic. And there are ample tie lines to allow easy integration of clients’ own equipment.

The control room houses Unity Audio Boulder monitors and a Focal sub (the studio is wired for 5.1 surround which is available on request). Tannoy Golds, Genelec 1029a’s and Auratone are also available.

Analogue fans are well-served too, with several Studer tape machines primed and ready to add their own unique flavour to the mix.

For more on Rimshot please visit http://www.allstudios.co.uk/blog/142

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